Pamphile: Alicorn of Harmony
by AkumaKami64
Summary: In most timelines, Twilight would have failed if she went to face Nightmare Moon alone. However, in this one, she succeeded all on her own, coming to a revelation that, with the Elements of Harmony, brings her to the Ranks of Alicorn much earlier than ever expected. Now Twilight will make her way through the world as the Alicorn of Harmony, The Friend to All, The Pamphile Princess.
1. Birth of the Pamphile

Pamphile: Alicorn of Harmony

Disclaimer: I don't own MLP

Summary:In most timelines, Twilight would have failed if she went to face Nightmare Moon alone. However, in this one, she succeeded all on her own, coming to a revelation that, with the Elements of Harmony, brings her to the Ranks of Alicorn much earlier than ever expected. Now Twilight will make her way through the world as the Alicorn of Harmony, The Friend to All, The Pamphile Princess.

Regular Speak

 _Thoughts and Flashbacks_

 **Demonic or Animalistic Speak**

 _ **Demonic or Animalistic Thoughts**_

 **AN This first chapter is not mine. I'm posting it with the permisison and the encouragement of the original author,** _Crescent Pulsar_ **of Fimfiction, for the convience of the expansion I'm making on his oneshot. My only edit to it is removing some no-unneeded exposition near the end.**

Twilight Sparkle stood outside of the Everfree Forest, upon a dirt pathway that led into it. While she didn't like the idea of exploring a strange forest all by herself, especially during the dark of night, she had decided that it would be necessary. It wasn't just because a certain group of ponies were too unknown to her to be reliable, aside from the smidgen of experience that she could ascertain a certain degree of unreliability, but due to the nature of her endeavor. So, to avoid being joined or followed, she had read _The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide_ to herself before teleporting away from the library with the aforementioned book still in her possession.

Secure in the knowledge that she had found a good — and safe — place to hide the book, and that no one would see where she was going, she steeled herself and began to walk into the forest. As she left the relative safety of Ponyville behind, she recalled the reasons for why she had decided to make this a solitary undertaking, instead of enlisting — or accepting — aid.

To begin with, her mentor, Princess Celestia, had given her a certain book to study _just_ before the time that Nightmare Moon would be released from her imprisonment on the moon. It had been a book that had not only contained highly implicit knowledge regarding Princess Celestia having a younger sister, since her mentor had been responsible for the raising and lowering of the sun and moon for the duration of Nightmare Moon's banishment, but that said younger sister was none other than Nightmare Moon. It was very peculiar that such a connection wasn't common knowledge, especially since she was very knowledgeable about the pre-classical era, mostly due to having a strong interest in both her mentor and Star Swirl the Bearded. That she had never encountered anything about her mentor's younger sister, especially now that she knew that she would have been relevant prior to Nightmare Moon's banishment nearly a thousand years ago, to the day, suggested that it wasn't something _meant_ to be common knowledge. Thus, even if it would have been more convenient, she was averse to the idea of getting more ponies involved, since they could learn the secret that way.

She came upon a cliff and looked into the distance, where she could see the ruins of the "royal pony sisters'" castle. Happy that she had a good idea of where to go, she looked for a way to proceed from her current location. However, before she could find one, the ground beneath her hooves suddenly gave way, and she found herself sliding down a steep slope, toward the mouth of a chasm.

It wasn't until she stopped herself from falling over the edge of the chasm, with the lower half of her body hanging over it, that she recovered enough from her initial scare. Once she was able to think rationally about her predicament, she was able to come up with a solution before she could lose her grip and fall. Thus, after focusing her magic for a second, she disappeared in a flash of light and safely reappeared on the grassy floor of the chasm.

With a determined frown on her face, and the chasm giving her two paths to choose from, she picked the direction that she felt would bring her closer to her destination. As she followed her chosen route, she remembered the other reason for why she had opted to do this alone: she believed that Princess Celestia was testing her. After all, not only did it only require one pony to use the Elements of Harmony, as demonstrated by Nightmare Moon's banishment, which her mentor certainly could have done once more, but — as much as it saddened her to think about it — she knew that she wouldn't be her student forever, that her graduation could have come at any time in the near future. It was a little hard to swallow, with the stakes set so high, but what other reason could there be for her mentor to surreptitiously inform her of the situation, rather than handling Nightmare Moon herself, and/or preparing others for what she had known was coming?

Her thoughts were interrupted when a manticore suddenly landed some distance in front of her, who reared up on its hind legs and roared while its gaze was undeniably focused upon her. Having just reminded herself of how important her mission was, of how much was at stake, she narrowed her eyes and tensed her body, preparing herself for the inevitable confrontation. At the same time, her mind raced to figure out a solution, since she didn't want to be harried by the creature while she sought to stop a much more dire situation, should she circumvent it and run away. Unfortunately, she knew enough about manticores to know that she wouldn't be able to overcome it in a test of physical prowess, and there wasn't anything useful — like reeds — that she could use with her magic to put it to sleep.

The manticore didn't give her enough time to think of a good way of dealing with it, because it wasn't long before it descended upon her with a swipe of its paw. After ducking underneath the initial attack, then hopping away from the chomping maw that followed, she briefly considered using her telekinesis to put some distance between them, so she might have a chance of finding a place to hide before the beast could catch up to her. That seemed unlikely to work, however, considering its ability to fly and the length and narrowness of the chasm that she would need to cross in order to find an acceptable hiding place.

However, when the manticore tried to land a downward stroke with its left paw, she noticed the large thorn embedded in it before she dodged out of the way. The idea that it gave her seemed silly, and would have made more sense had she been having an altercation with a fellow pony, but she figured that it couldn't hurt to try it. If it didn't work, she would already be holding the manticore at bay, so she could safely decide on how to proceed from there.

When the manticore tried to claw her yet again, this time with its right paw, she caught it with her telekinesis and shouted, "Wait!" Remarkably, it did pause, although it may have had more to do with her magic, since it was staring at its arrested paw, so she pointed at its other paw and requested, "Can you show me the underside of your paw?"

After the manticore glanced between her hoof and its paw, as if trying to comprehend what it was seeing, it slowly turned its paw over, which revealed the thorn.

She grasped the thorn with her telekinesis and said, "Sorry, but this might hurt a bit," before yanking it out without warning, since she had once read that it could be helpful if the pain came as a surprise, rather than committing the act when it was being anticipated.

The manticore howled in agony, which was loud and forceful enough for her to lose her hold on its paw. Fortunately, instead of taking advantage of her distraction, the manticore sat on its haunches after its outburst and inspected its now-thornless paw thoughtfully. Then, much to her surprise, it leaned forward and gave the side of her face a nice, long lick, before spreading its wings and taking flight.

She sat there for a time, in a disbelieving stupor, oblivious to the drool-matted fur on one side of her face. Not only had she not expected the manticore to respond reasonably to her act of kindness, but she realized that no book had ever mentioned that such a thing was possible when it came to manticores. She began to seriously consider if Princess Celestia might actually be right about there being more to life than studying, as much as she didn't want to admit the possibility.

Once she shook herself out of her stupor, and began to move forward once more, she began to consider what Princess Celestia had suggested to her, in lieu of studying and aside from supervising the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration: making friends. It had confused her at first, since it didn't seem to have anything to do with her test, until it had occurred to her that what she needed to do, in order to protect the world from Nightmare Moon and her never-ending night, would make her a friend — an ally — to all of the inhabitants of the world.

While it had occurred to her — after arriving at her conclusion — that five of the known Elements of Harmony embodied traits that one might desire in a friend, she had dismissed the possibility that Princess Celestia had meant for her to gather up friends that represented those traits. Aside from the fact that the Elements of Harmony had once been used by a single pony, which meant that a group of ponies wouldn't be required, it was unrealistic to think that someone could make the required amount of friends within a day; at least, she certainly couldn't see _herself_ accomplishing such a feat. Not only was there that, but also the issue of finding and making the kind of friends that would be compatible with the Elements of Harmony.

If Princess Celestia had really intended for her to confront Nightmare Moon with friends, she reasoned that she would have coaxed her to make friends a lot sooner than she had. So, like everything else about her test, it had been a hint of what she had to do, not a direct or literal instruction. Not that the hints had been all that challenging: that reference guide for the Elements of Harmony, in particular, which had been about a subject that she had only caught one mention of in all of her years of study prior, had been incredibly blatant, especially since it just happened to be in the library where she would stay during the Summer Sun Celebration, in the town closest to where the Elements of Harmony resided. Of course, she could understand the sacrifice of subtlety when the fate of the world hung in the balance, in addition to whatever graduation awaited her upon passing her test. A harder puzzle probably would have been overkill, anyway, considering how she already had to overcome the likes of Nightmare Moon.

Shortly after leaving the confines of the chasm, she began to enter a denser part of the forest, and before long she could barely see anything within a few feet of herself. Just as she was about to light up her horn, so she could see where she was going, the trees around her were lit up in an unnatural, ominous light, which revealed horrifically twisted visages with gaping orifices that were filled with jagged, misaligned teeth.

Initially frozen by fear, she gathered her courage and waited for the abominations to make their move: not only because she didn't want to let the world down, but Princess Celestia as well — _especially_ Princess Celestia. However, it eventually occurred to her that her attackers weren't, well, attacking. When she realized that the trees had simply been given a visual makeover, after taking a closer look and prodding one with a hoof, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly vacated the area, glad that her attempt to do so hadn't been impeded in some way.

As she drew closer to her goal, she began to think about one of the only concerns that remained about her situation: actually being able to wield the Elements of Harmony. While she was confident that she had the right idea about what she had to do, she couldn't stomp out the irrational thought that Princess Celestia might have chosen her to take care of Nightmare Moon because she could no longer meet the requirements that the Elements of Harmony demanded of its user. It was a scary thought, because she held her mentor in such high regard and couldn't even begin to imagine herself coming close to that level of excellence. However, Princess Celestia wouldn't have given her such an important responsibility unless she had been confident enough in her student, right?

Fortunately, she was distracted by such thoughts when she heard someone crying somewhere ahead of her. Since it was more or less coming from the direction that she was heading toward anyway, she decided to investigate. What she found, by the time she was standing upon the bank of a river, were the waters of said river being churned up by a sea serpent's writhing body, who appeared to be rather upset about something.

She considered teleporting to the other side of the river, to avoid the situation entirely, but her recent thoughts made her think better of it. After all, whether or not Princess Celestia could wield the Elements of Harmony, she certainly wouldn't have ignored someone in distress, even if they weren't a pony — she was sure of it. Basically, if she ever hoped to stand upon the same stage as her mentor, she couldn't choose who to be a friend to, or when, as a matter of convenience. If she was going to be there for everyone, even though almost every single "one" in "everyone" was a stranger, she shouldn't be making any exceptions on a whim.

So, even though she felt that time was of the essence, she called out, "Excuse me, sir." When she had the sea serpent's attention, she queried, "Why are you crying?"

"Well, I don't know," the sea serpent replied, with a manner of speech and gesticulation that she recognized from some of the upper-class ponies. "I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky, little cloud of smoke just," he made a sweeping gesture with his hand, " _whisked_ past me and tore half of my beloved mustache _clean off_. And now," he went on, as his behavior progressed into histrionics, "I look simply _horrid_!"

With that final declaration, he wailed dramatically and collapsed into the water, which resulted in a splash that was large enough to completely drench her. With an irritated sigh, she shook her soaked hair out of her eyes and tried to be encouraging. "Well, it'll grow back, right?"

The sea serpent morosely settled his head upon the bank of the river, with his arms crossed beneath it. "Oh, sure, but that will take _ages_. Until then, I'll have no choice but to go into seclusion and hide my face from the public eye."

While she couldn't really relate to his plight, she could tell that he was deeply affected by the loss of his mustache. So, after some self-deliberation, and convincing herself that her solution would be worth it, she used her magic to "detach" most of the hair on her tail, which evoked a gasp of shock from the sea serpent, who abruptly rose into the air to express his reaction in the visual spectrum as well. Before he could say or do anything about her actions either way, she attached her hair to the ruined portion of his mustache and — for good measure — cast a spell that changed it to the same color as the other half of it.

Once his mustache had been restored, the sea serpent laughed in delight and happily exclaimed, "My mustache! How _wonderful_!"

Pleased with her success, she noticed that the river was now safe to cross, so she opted to do it the old-fashioned way instead of expending more of her magic via teleportation. However, before she had made much progress, the sea serpent managed to slip underneath her and raised her out of the water, saying, "Allow me," before making a bridge out of its body for her.

She obliged him and finally made it to the other side of the river, finding the loss of so much weight on her tail strange when the usual bouncing and pulling sensations failed to happen. Then, she proceeded with cautious haste, because the sea serpent's words had confirmed her suspicion of Nightmare Moon's presence, since she had doubted that what had happened to the trees had been natural, and the crumbling cliff — in retrospect — had been rather suspect as well. She wasn't sure if the manticore had been nothing more than a coincidence, but she wasn't going to rule it out as another one of Nightmare Moon's schemes.

Eventually, she passed through another stretch of the forest before she came to a clearing that allowed her a good view of the castle ruins, mostly due to the fact that she was close enough to be on the path that led to its entrance. She surveyed her surroundings as she moved forward, because she didn't want to be surprised by Nightmare Moon when she was so close to her goal. With her attention so divided, she almost missed the fact that there was a chasm ahead of her, and that the bridge that one would use to cross it was no longer attached on the other side.

Even with the mist within the chasm concealing most of the bridge's length, it was a simple matter to raise the bridge and tie it to the stone pillars on the other side with her telekinesis. However, before she could cross it, she saw the nebulous form of Nightmare Moon's hair appear on the other side of the bridge, which swiftly manifested itself into the entire form of the pony in question.

Nightmare Moon chuckled with amusement at the glare of defiance that she was receiving. "I'm impressed that you've resisted me thus far, little pony. What is your name?"

"Twilight Sparkle," said pony tersely replied.

"Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare Moon repeated, in a way that expressed the name's palatableness to her own ears. "I'll give you a choice: submit to me, and I'll allow you to serve me at my side. If you do not..."

The threat that had been left hanging in the air did nothing to affect Twilight Sparkle's resolve. "I'll serve you..." Nightmare Moon's look of satisfaction was struck down when she added, "That is, once you've been returned to normal and reunited with your sister."

Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes. "I see. Well, if you think—" She stopped when Twilight Sparkle angled the front of her body closer to the ground and began to paw at it with one of her forehooves, so it was with a mix of boredom and annoyance that she responded to it with, "You're kidding. You're kidding, right?"

Twilight Sparkle charged across the bridge, and readied a teleportation spell as she did so. Nightmare Moon decided to humor her and raced to meet her charge with one of her own. Before they could collide, Twilight Sparkle teleported out of the way, and reappeared a few, short steps from the main entrance of the castle. She spared a quick look over her shoulder, and met Nightmare Moon's furious gaze when she performed the same action, before she opened the doors and hurried inside.

Well, she was still outside, technically, since there was no roof in what remained of the main hall, in addition to the fact that the walls had several holes in them, but she didn't pay such details any mind as her gaze fell upon the unique pedestal that was in the middle of the room, which held the Elements of Harmony. As quickly as she could, she used her telekinesis to bring them together on the floor before her, then tried to use her magic to create the spark that the reference book had only made mention of, rather than explained.

Right at the moment when Nightmare Moon materialized in front of her, she managed to create a spark, one which jolted her with enough force to knock her upon her back, well away from the Elements of Harmony. She raised herself onto her forehooves from a supine position and watched as several sparks jumped from one Element of Harmony to the next, while Nightmare Moon voiced her denial that such a thing was happening, and felt certain of her success. That is, until the light show ceased, and the Elements of Harmony returned to being inert once more.

Shocked, she gasped and said, "But... Where's the sixth element?"

Nightmare Moon proceeded to laugh with both relief and triumph, and Twilight Sparkle could only watch in stupefied dismay as she happily seized the opportunity to rear up and stomp her forehooves amid the Elements of Harmony, which shattered them all into pieces.

"You little _foal_!" Nightmare Moon unconcernedly declared, now that the one known potential threat to her reign had been dealt with. "Thinking you could defeat _me_? Now you will never see your princess, _or_ your sun." With a self-satisfied smile, and her tail and mane billowing upward, she proclaimed, "The _night_... will last... _forever_!"

While Nightmare Moon laughed maniacally, with her mane and tail forming a funnel-like cloud in the air above her, Twilight Sparkle tried to figure out what had been done wrong, hardly believing that all of her reasoning, which had made so much sense, had amounted to nothing. Had the solution been something as simple as needing to pursue an answer for what the spark was supposed to be before taking action, or had she failed to figure out some other part of the situation? What if she had assumed so much that there had never truly been a test in the first place?

She shook her head, set her jaw, and gathered her resolve as she glared at Nightmare Moon. There were more important things to think about than herself, or what she should have done differently. Even if overcoming Nightmare Moon was an impossibility, she couldn't accept whatever fate Nightmare Moon had in store for Princess Celestia, or that her younger sister couldn't be restored. Neither would she want Spike, her family, or her former foalsitter, Cadance, to live in a world of never-ending night, one that was ruled by the likes of Nightmare Moon. Not even that group of overly-friendly ponies from Ponyville deserved such a future, who had only — for the most part — rubbed her the wrong way because of the circumstances. Ultimately, though, _no one_ should have to endure what Nightmare Moon had planned for them.

Suddenly, while she was bolstering herself for what lie ahead of her with the feelings of love and compassion that she felt for others, because she highly doubted that resisting Nightmare Moon would do her any favors, she had an epiphany. Her eyes widened with shock upon the realization that she had gone about things in the wrong way: while friendship could certainly be identified and measured intellectually, the condition and experience of friendship itself was rooted in emotion. She had failed to initiate a spark because she had been distant on an emotional level, rather than feeling her special bonds with others and wishing to preserve the ones that could be made within everyone.

While Nightmare Moon had noticed her change in demeanor, now that she had regained her confidence, she spoke before her adversary could comment on it, saying, "You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony, just like that? Well, you're _wrong_ : because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right _here_!"

The remnants of the Elements of Harmony began to shift and glow before rising into the air, which Nightmare Moon observed with worry and confusion, which she voiced. "What?"

"Honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, loyalty," Twilight Sparkle calmly began, with a group of what remained of the Elements of Harmony being drawn to her at every mention, which swirled about her upon their arrival. "These Elements bring us together, and enrich our lives. When I realized their value, and felt what they meant to me, I knew that I had to protect them and the bonds that they've helped to create, for everyone's sake." She stared determinedly into Nightmare Moon's eyes and added, "I also knew that I couldn't allow your bitterness and resentment to blind you to them."

"You still don't have the sixth element!" Nightmare Moon argued, who had to fight to keep her concern over these turn of events from getting the better of her, despite her lack of self-assurance making a negative impact on her confidence. "The spark didn't work!"

"But it did!" Twilight Sparkle confidently countered, before her expression softened. "A different kind of spark. I felt it ignite within _me_ the very moment that I realized how much I care about the special bonds that you threaten, how it would feel for others if I were in their hooves, and that they _had_ to be protected."

There was a flash of light from above, and the sixth element continued to shine brightly as it descended, until it hovered above her head. Seeing that Nightmare Moon couldn't handle its luminosity, and was being distracted as she tried to keep the light out of her eyes, she continued from where she had left off, saying, "You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the _spark_ that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of..." She paused, as she prepared to heed the Elements of Harmony's call, before she closed her eyes and said, "Magic!"

With her eyes closed, she failed to see the first five Elements of Harmony transforming into a necklace with five star-shaped jewels embedded in it, while the sixth took the form of a crown which displayed a star-shaped jewel that was larger than the other five, although she could feel their weight even as she began to feel weightless. She also failed to see the rainbow that had manifested as the attack of the Elements of Harmony, but she could certainly hear Nightmare Moon's panicked cries of refusal as she was overwhelmed by it.

Details got fuzzy from that point onward, for an indeterminate amount of time, until she found herself lying on her belly, feeling drained and disoriented. Fortunately, it wasn't long before she had recovered enough to stand up, although something felt... off about her body, in some way that she couldn't readily define. When she went to check and see that everything was in order, after giving her new accessories a quick look, she received not just one surprise, but two: a pair of wings, and hair that flowed much like Princess Celestia's did.

Her hair color was more or less the same, except her pink and purple stripes were at the bottom, with the purple stripe separating the pink from the midnight blue that still made up most of her hair. However, the pink and purple appeared to be luminous, while the midnight blue literally looked like the night sky, because of the twinkling pinpoints of light that gave the impression of stars, which appeared intermittently within her purple and pink stripes. It reminded her of the sky at dawn or dusk, while the sun was hiding just underneath the horizon.

While she tried to flex her wings, and watched them move with a mixture of awe and disbelief, she absently said, "Why do I look like the princess?"

"That's because you _are_ a princess," a familiar voice answered her, even as sunlight began to grace the land once more.

She saw a brilliant orb of light separate itself from the rising sun and descend into the room, where it resolved itself into a familiar and welcome form upon alighting on the ground. With a gasp of delight, she happily said, "Princess Celestia," before trotting up to the aforementioned pony for a hug.

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student," Celestia replied as she lowered her head to give said student a hug, before rising and proudly adding, "I knew you could do it, yet even I hadn't anticipated how well."

Twilight Sparkle took a step back so she could gaze up at her mentor, feeling overwhelmed by the situation, especially once the words that Princess Celestia had spoken prior to her arrival had finally caught up to her. "But... Wait... _Me_ , a princess?"

Princess Celestia chuckled softly at her reaction and said, "Indeed. Although you have yet to display the qualities of a true princess, that doesn't mean that they don't already exist within you," she gently placed a forehoof over Twilight Sparkle's heart, "here. The Elements of Harmony must have seen that, your capacity for friendship, and — I imagine — your willingness to take up the same burden as I have to promote and maintain harmony."

Twilight Sparkle blushed at both the contact and words, and began to fidget self-consciously. Before she could formulate a response, both she and Princess Celestia heard a groan, which inspired them to turn their attention to its source, close to where Nightmare Moon had once stood. In her place, lying prone on the ground, was a smaller alicorn with a muted purple coat and periwinkle-colored hair.

"Princess Luna," Princess Celestia addressed her sister evenly, as she made her approach, causing her sister to gasp and open her eyes, within which could be seen a great tumult of emotions when they found her own. "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this." She lowered herself before her sister, who clenched her eyes shut and shied away, until she was certain that she only intended to speak to her. "It's time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister." She stood back up and entreated, "Will you accept my friendship?"

After some hesitation, Princess Luna rushed over to Celestia for a hug and tearfully declared, "I'm so sorry! I missed you _so much_ , big sister!"

Princess Celestia returned the hug and shed a few tears of her own as she said, "I've missed you, too."

Twilight Sparkle wiped at her moist eyes as she watched the touching reunion, and stayed quiet so she didn't interrupt it, even though there were several questions that she was burning to ask. Of course, high on her list of questions were ones that involved her new body, being a princess, and her status as Princess Celestia's student. However, she also couldn't help wondering about some of the details surrounding the two sisters, concerning their history and the plan that had managed to restore Princess Luna to her proper body and identity.

Fortunately, she would get her answers from Princess Celestia soon enough, but for now, fate and luck had other plans.

Despite Twilight Sparkle's own attempt to allow Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to have their moment, it seemed destined to be interrupted, because a familiar group of ponies raced through the front door — with the exception of a certain rainbow-haired pegasus, who had chosen to fly over the wall. In a manner that she couldn't help seeing as comical, their eyes went wide as they skid to an abrupt halt, when they noticed the most recognizable and prestigious figure within view.

Almost as one, they all bowed respectfully, and it was with a mixture of joy and relief that they exclaimed, "Princess Celestia!"

Princess Celestia did not seem to mind the interruption, who turned to face them and calmly said, "Be at ease, my little ponies. Might I ask what has brought all of you out here?"

Rarity stepped forward and said, "Well, we came out here because—"

"Found ya!" Pinkie Pie gleefully declared, at about the same time as some of the others noticed Twilight Sparkle's presence, and proceeded to knock her to the floor with the force of her aerial hug, which also managed to dislodge the crown from the top of her head. "Now _you're_ it!"

A little put off by Pinkie Pie's interruption, Rarity awkwardly gestured toward Twilight Sparkle to indicate to Princess Celestia what the subject of her response would have been.

Once Twilight Sparkle was on her hooves again, with Pinkie Pie happily bouncing up and down at her accomplishment beside her, whatever anyone would have said or done next was derailed by a collective gasp, when the new arrivals finally noticed the state of her hair, and the wings that hadn't been present back in Ponyville. They were amazed further when Princess Celestia returned the crown to her head, which — along with the necklace — completed her image as a princess. Of course, with all of that attention, and the nature of said attention, she began to feel rather self-conscious.

Rainbow Dash, who had been planning to give Twilight Sparkle a tongue-lashing for ditching her and the others like she had, allowed her confusion to do the talking instead. "Since when did you have wings?"

"Yeah," Applejack agreed, as she began to scrutinize the entire package. "I'm pretty sure that ya weren't like that before."

"Oh, well, you see..." Twilight Sparkle temporized, as she tried to think of how to explain what had happened to her.

Either because Fluttershy was understanding of her situation, or was aloof enough from the group to divert her attention elsewhere, she was both relieved and thankful when she noticed the other alicorn in the room and quietly said, "Um... Who's that standing next to Princess Celestia?"

When the group's attention fully shifted to Princess Luna, she shied away, not liking it any more than Twilight Sparkle had at that precise moment. Princess Celestia stepped closer to her, in a way that could have been interpreted as being protective, and fondly stated, "This is my younger sister: Princess Luna."

That seemed to surprise them a lot more than Twilight Sparkle's appearance, to the point of being speechless after their initial reactions to the news, so Princess Celestia chuckled with mirth and said, "I can see that some explanations are in order. Why don't we head back to Ponyville, and talk along the way?"

Everyone was willing to agree to her suggestion, so they started to file out of the ruins. While Princess Celestia began to enlighten the others, Twilight Sparkle hung back a bit, so she could see all five of the ponies that had cared about her so much that they had managed to discover where she had gone and followed her there. It was a strange notion to consider, especially since she had been a stranger to them prior to meeting them only hours ago, but she felt touched by their actions nonetheless.

"Maybe," she thought, with a slight smile forming on her lips, "taking a break from studying, and making some friends, isn't such a bad idea."

 **End of Chapter**

There we go. Again, not my chapter, but I like it enough to make a whole fic out of this concept. Next one is all me, and what I see as the starting ramifications of Twilight's one-mare exploits.


	2. Future Princess, Humble Badass

Pamphile: Alicorn of Harmony

Disclaimer: I don't own MLP

Regular Speak

 _Thoughts and Flashbacks_

 **Demonic or Animalistic Speak**

 _ **Demonic or Animalistic Thoughts**_

"That. Is. AWESOME!" Rainbow cheered, hovering in pure amazement, practically squeeing at the epic tale, "Like the awesomest thing I ever heard!"

Twilight blushed in embarrassment at the overenthusiastic Pegasus as she and the rest of the ponies that might become her friends walked through the Everfree, her mentor and the newly restore Luna with them as well, "I-I don't know about that," She said sheepishly, brushing a hoof through her now-flowing mane, trying to keep her wings tucked in.

"You survived a rock slide, stared down a manticore, befriended a sea serpent, shrugged off some scary illusions like it was nothing, and all of that BEFORE taking on Nightmare Moon on your own?!" Rainbow recounted, "Where do they even make ponies like you!?"

"Well that's a silly thing to ask," Pinkie Pie said with a grin as she pronked along, "Obviously they made her in the princess factory!" She declared like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Jokes and bluntness aside, they are right, dear," Rarity pointed out, looking thoughtful, "You're like something out of a fairy tale: A gallant pony riding into our lives from nowhere to save the day and save not only our beloved ruler but also save her sister from a terrible evil," She said dramatically with a wave of her hoof.

"And in the end, yer turnin out ta be a new Alicorn and a future princess yerself," Applejack piped in.

"G-gallant?! Me?" Twilight repeated in shock, blushing from the praise. She was just a little bookworm before today, none of these adjectives were things she would have put to herself!

"Thine companions art most correct, Lady Twilight," Luna piped up as she looked at the group over her shoulder, her sister's wing light around her in a show of support and concern. Her tone and body language seemed demurred from a mix of exhaustion and sorrow. Despite that, she gave Twilight a small smile of utmost gratitude, "While thine humbleness speaks needless more volumes to the character of the newest to join the ranks of the Alicorns, it is most unneeded. Your deeds of this night deserve all the praise in the world," She said softly.

Twilight stared at Luna for a moment in a moment, the entire group coming to a stop as the two ascended ponies stared at each other, and then Twilight glanced at her mentor, as if asking permission. The sun princess smiled softly and nodded her consent. Luna looked a bit confused when her sister removed her wing from her person, turning to face her savior fully as the violet mare approached her until they were face to face.

Luna felt just a bit embarrassed in her smaller body, looking up at a pony that, Alicorn or no, was so many times her junior it was ridiculous to think about.

"Princess Luna," Twilight started off kindly, yet just a tad formally, smiling down at the weakened immortal in a way that made Luna blush a tiny bit, "We both have a bit of rocky road ahead of us: I have to figure out being an Alicorn, and then a princess, while you have a thousand years of culture and history to reacquaint yourself with," She pointed out before giving her a bow of respect, "As we both have more than a little experience with each other's problem, I was wondering if you might consider me your first friend in this new era?"

Luna looked at the figure of the bearer of the Elements of Harmony bowing to her...was that even the right term any more, bearer? Was she not the Princess of Harmony now, if not the Avatar?

All those idle thoughts ran through Luna's head before she realized she was hugging Twilight Sparkle, crying softly into her coat, "I-I would be honored, Lady Twilight," She said tearfully, even as Twilight embraced her softly, "B-but please, do not bow to me. Never you," She requested, almost pleadingly.

Twilight blinked at the request, but smiled all the same, "As you wish, Princess," She promised softly.

The six other ponies watched it with various degrees of happiness and adoration. Fluttershy looked ready to faint, but from happiness overload instead of fear for once. Pinkie looked ready to throw a million parties a day to celebrate this wonderful occasion. Rarity smiled, but hers had a thoughtful, whimsical look. Applejack had a small smile, sympathizing with Princess Celestia as an elder sister and if anyone didn't know any better, they might think Rainbow Dash was developing a bit of hero worship for Twilight, given her wide, admiring grin.

Celestia, meanwhile, was busy enjoying how happy and adorable her student and sister both looked right now.

And stifled a giggle when Twilight's crown fell off her head and landed on Luna's back. Luna, now dried of tears, had no such reservations of a small laugh, "I have to get use to that, don't I?" Twilight asked with a small sigh, smiling all the same.

"M-mayhaps, but I'm sure sister has perfected a few tricks for that," Luna assured with a chuckle as Twilight tried to pick it up with magic...and had the crown burst into the foliage above.

"I got it!" Rainbow said instantly, racing up to grab the headpiece before it hit the ground- or before it even stopped rising, likely.

All the mortal ponies starred at a bewildered Twilight in shock, "Umm, Twilight? Are, umm, you okay?" Fluttershy asked in concern.

The wide eyed former-unicorn nodded, "Guess I don't know my own strength anymore," She mused, Celestia and Luna looking amused, as she felt the crown gently plopped back onto her head.

"There you go, right back where it belongs," Rainbow Dash said with another grin as she floated nearby.

Twilight smiled in thanks, before looking in slight annoyance at her crown, "This would be a lot easier if you were a part of the necklace too," She commented idly.

Celestia herself could say she was shocked as Twilight's crown vanished in a flash of light, her royal yoke morphing slightly to have a larger Star of Magic in the center. Above it, like a crown or horn, was the Star of Loyalty. On the right side were the Star of Honesty followed by the Star of Generosity and the left had the Star of Kindness than the Star of Laughter.

"...Okay, now yer just showing off, Sugarcube," Applejack said in surprise.

"Umm, this isn't bad, right, Princess?" Twilight asked automatically, looking down in confusion and a bit of worry.

"I do not believe so, my student, but the elements are a mystery to even myself and my sister," Celestia answered curiously, "Still, let us continue on, Ponyville is not much farther and we'll have plenty of time to discover what else this means for you, My Student," Celestia assured.

"Oh, right and you were trained by the princess yourself," Rainbow Dash commented as they went on, "What's next? You were babysat by the Captain of the Royal Guard as a filly?" She said in jest.

While everypony else chuckled at the joke, no one noticed the sheepish look on Twilight's face, or the amused one on Celestia: Best save some surprises for another day.

"Princess Celestia! Thank goodness you're alright!" A guardpony called as they reached the edge of the forest, the stallion racing up to meet them with a bow.

"I'm more than alright, my good stallion," Celestia assured with a smile as she looked to her sister than to Twilight, "Thanks to my student."

At the comment, the soldier looked away from his princess and his eyes went wide at the two new Alicorns. One looked fairly young, dressed in black regalia over dark blue coat and a cyan mane. The other, a young adult mare, looked just like the Princess's personal student. Only now she had wings, a bejeweled royal yoke, with her mane and tail now etheral and flowing like the Princess's as stripes glowed softly and midnight hair sparkled like stars in the sky.

His tongue caught in his throat, he did the only automatic thing his brain could register. He bowed, "Miladies," He greeted with a mix of awe and apology.

"All tis well, good stallion," Luna said softly, "You expected us as much as we expected ourselves," She said to his confusion.

"It's a long story," Twilight said sheepishly.

"But first, we have one important thing to do!" Pinkie Pie spoke up quickly as she appeared between the two smaller Alicorns.

"Party?" Twilight guessed with a raised eyebrow.

Pinkie looked at her with wide eyes, "You are an amazing Princess already," She said in awe as she stood up on her hind legs, "SISTER REUNITED, DAY IS SAVED, ALICORNIFICATION, NEW FRIENDS PARTY!" She declared loudly to the town. The inhabitants, already cheerful at the return of the sun and the likeliness of their princess's safety, perked up at the all-too-familiar call of the Pinkie.

The guards in town just blinked in confusion at the sudden commotion.

"I'll be right back," Twilight said, muttering in concern as she charged her horn, "I have to go check on someone," She explained, getting a nod from Celestia in understanding before vanishing in an extra bright flash.

"Wow nelly! I'm seeing spots!" Applejack said in alarm as she swayed on spot a bit, rubbing her eyes.

"Poor dear must being dealing with quite the power boost," Rarity murmured with a few quick blinks.

"Ohhh, pretty!" Pinkie called out, looking at a particularly nicely colored splotch in her vision.

Luna raised an eyebrow at them before looking to Celestia, who just chuckled and shrugged

While the Celebration began to form, Twilight reappeared back inside Golden Oaks Library...or, rather, on top of it. With a small frown, she teleported again, reappearing in the basement of all places, "This going to be like starting over from scratch, isn't it?" She asked to no one. To her surprise and interest, the Elements in her golden necklace glowed a bit, almost in sympathy, "Huh...wonder if they ever did that for the Princesses?" She mused to herself before walking up the stairs to the library.

As she headed straight for the bedroom where she left Spike, she failed to notice a pony lying in the corner, having passed out from the party and only now coming to consciousness. Watching the Alicorn waltz out of the basement and into the bedroom, the earth pony blinked and sat up, "...Okay, no more of Pinkie's special punch," Berry Punch mused in bewilderment, deciding to calmly get up and leave before she had more hallucinations.

"Spike? Spike are you up?" Twilight asked softly as she came up to the bed, finding the young reptile curled under the blanket, stirring a bit.

He then proceeded to yawn in a manner he would refuse to acknowledge as cute, "Twi...? What happened? I miss the celebration?" He asked tiredly as he sat up sleepily.

"Oh, no, I'm sure that'll be going on for a while," Twilight said with a vague chuckle.

"Ah, kay. Just let me-" Spike paused and went wide eyed, "Missing Princess! Nightmare Moon! Eternal Night! What happened?!" He asked in alarm as his memories went back before blinking, "And what's with the hair? Did Celestia teach you that?" He asked, his brain starting to fully boot up.

Twilight looked a bit sheepish, "Yeah, you see, about that...Well, after I put you to bed, I kind of...wentoffanddefeatedNightmareMoonaftefindingtheelmentsonmyownandbecameanalicorn," Twilight answered quickly.

Spike squinted as he tried to process that, "Tough and deaf Nightmare Moon...what?" He asked, unable to make that out.

Twilight sighed, "I went into the Everfree, defeated a few obstacles, got to the old castle, retrieved and awakened the Elements of Harmony, stopped Nightmare Moon, and saved Princess Celestia," Twilight listed off slowly and clearly, leaving him gapping.

"...I fall asleep for a few hours, and you go off and save the world?!" Spike exclaimed in disbelief, his tiny arms up in shock.

Twilight chuckled a bit, looking sheepish, "Kind of, yeah," She admitted, having nothing else she could say, "So...good night's sleep?"

"Don't change the subject! I have soooo many questions now! Like...Like...what are those?" Spike asked blankly as he looked down, his eyes half lidded.

Twilight looked down at the elements, "Oh, right. These are the Elements of Harmony. They...changed shape, among other things, once I turned them back from stone," She explained simply.

"That raises even more questions, but that isn't what I meant," Spike said, pointing to her side.

"Oh, right, the wings...," Twilight trailed off, having forgotten about them a bit. Just looking at them made the appendages twitch and flutter a bit. She turned her face completely straight and looked at Spike, "I forgot to mention: The Elements apparently turned me into an Alicorn," She elaborated.

Spike stared at her evenly for several long minutes.

Then he proceeded to fall off the bed, face down on the floor.

"Spike! Are you okay?" She called in alarm, turning him over.

He lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling, "Twilight, next time? Don't let me fall asleep. I don't think I'll be able to keep up the next time I miss out on this much stuff happening," He requested, sounding a bit annoyed yet also numbed to the situation.

Twilight chuckled softly, "Trust me, I know the feeling," She assured, leaning down to give him a supportive nuzzle. Spike blinked before sighing heavily in contentment with a large smile on his face, "Ummm, Spike? You okay?" She asked awkwardly, not sure what that was about.

"Yeah, you're mane is just really, really comfortable now," Spike said, almost sounding like he was ready to fall asleep again.

Twilight giggled a bit, "I wonder if that's an Alicorn thing or just me," She mused, pulling back and prompting him to sit up with a sigh.

"...A bucking Alicorn," Spike repeated, shaking his head, "Was this just a way to get out of making friends?"

"Well...let's just say that certain revelations have caused me to reevaluate my original position on that subject and has led me to now fully and heartily throw my efforts into making friends," Twilight explained with a smile, a warm and bright one that could have humbled the sun.

Technically, that might have already happened.

"..." Spike blinked as he looked up in her eyes. It was Twilight alright, but there was definitely something different about her. She seemed...just a bit more relaxed now. Not entirely, yet it was like she finally understood something that allowed her a bit of inner peace with herself and the world, "So, any of the mares we met today going to be likely candidates?" He asked curiously.

Twilight grinned a bit at that, "Don't worry, lover boy. Despite her name, seeing her probably won't be a rarity," She joked.

"Hmm, not bad for a first joke," Spike complimented with brief applause- she actually wasn't sure if that was sarcasm or genuine, "Now, I think you said something about a party or something?" He remembered, straining his ears for a moment, "Sure sounds like one to me."

"Well, let's go join in then. There's somepony I need to introduce you to anyway," Twilight said with a smile as she stood to the side to let him get on, "I'd levitate you up, but...my magic is a bit...sensitive at the moment," She said sheepishly.

"I'll TRY not to fall asleep on your Mane of Sleepiness," Spike said as he hopped onto one of his usual spots: Twilight's back, "Riding an Alicorn. Hehe, not many get to say that, eh?" The baby dragon joked with a grin.

Twilight sighed at the double meaning to that, "Spike, please don't phrase it like that. We'll get weird looks if you do, if not worse," She forewarned as she headed down the stairs.

"This another one of those "when you're older" things you and Princess Celestia keep bringing up?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Very," Twilight answered with a small smile as they exited the door.

As they expected, there was a celebration going on. Since it WAS the Summer Sun Festival, they already had everything they needed- plus a little bit more from Pinkie Pie, no doubt. Without hesitation, the pair headed to the crowd, towards the towering form of Princess Celestia herself.

As they came closer and closer to the gathering, more and more ponies took notice of her, turning to stare with wide eyes of awe, wonder, and a bit of confusion. Twilight became a bit self-conscious as they started to whisper in speculation to each other, but bit her lip as she continued her walk up to her teach, who was already smiling welcomingly.

Between the regalia that was the Elements of Harmony, her obvious Alicorn status, her flowing hair, and the look on Celestia's face...in their situation, Twilight would probably guess that this was Celestia's own daughter.

Twilight briefly noted Luna had some kind of a necklace of flowers placed on her now.

"...Did Celestia have a secret lost daughter or something?"

This question, ironically, came from Spike, who was looking at Luna in bewilderment.

The two sisters blinked before looking at each other, realizing their enhanced height difference could lead to certain impressions. Despite herself, Luna couldn't help giggling with a brief look of mischief at her sister, "Nay, young Drake, I am her sister," Luna answered simply.

"Oh, umm,...sorry?" Spike said sheepishly, not sure who he should direct that at and hoping it applied to both.

Celestia just shook her head in amusement, "I'm glad you arrived now, Twilight, I was just about to...reintroduce you," She said in fondness in amusement. Twilight tilted her head as Celestia addressed the crowd, one wing around Twilight as the ponies went silent, "Ponies of Ponyville, I would like the honor of introducing to you a very important mare on this day: My Student, The Bearer of Harmony, who saved my Sister and myself, and rose to the ranks of Alicorn. I give you, Lady Twilight Sparkle, Future Princess of Equestria," Celestia declared in pride.

The shock that ran over the crowd was almost a palpable force as they took in the gravity of who this young mare was and what she accomplished. Spike's jaw dropped as he saw the ponies all starting to bow to Twilight, getting a clear view from her back. He suddenly felt the urge to get off- not to bow or anything, but it felt a bit...awkward, riding around on somepony that everypony else was bowing to.

Twilight stared as well, a bit overwhelmed. She even saw the five ponies she was starting to consider as friends bowing to her. What did she do? What do you do when everypony is bowing to you? What would Princess Celestia-

Twilight blinked as a thought occurred to her: She wasn't a princess yet. So...a few ponies glanced up and blinked as they saw the purple ascended bowing her head lightly in return to them with a warm smile on her face. She looked up as she saw most of their attention on her and spoke, "I am not a Princess yet, Good Ponies, so there is no reason to bow to me," She assured as she rose, the ponies following suit as well, slowly, "I did nothing more than what many other ponies would have done, if they simply knew how. That I figured it out, should be of little consequence," She said, pulling off her best Celestia-smile, "For many days still to come, I am still merely another pony...who happens to be an Alicorn, among other things," She joked lightly, getting a few laughs, "With that said, don't feel the need to stop celebrating because of me!"

"We're celebrating because of you!" Someone in the back called, getting more laughs. Twilight suspected it was Rainbow Dash. Nonetheless, the celebration began to continue once more, even more so that they knew why and for whom they were celebrating. No pony noticed Pinkie Pie's momentary pout- she thought they were going to throw her in the air and do "Three Cheers for Twilight!"

"...Thou taught her well," Luna whispered to Celestia.

"Too well, apparently: I don't even remember teaching her that," Celestia noted with a surprised but pleased look.

"Learned by watching you," Twilight murmured as she turned to the elder Alicorns.

"Does thine humbleness know no bounds?" Luna asked in amusement.

"More like...I'm still processing this a little," Twilight admitted nervously, "No offense, but it feels like I might be having a fevered dream from that would-be head-butt I did with Nightmare Moon," She explained, before turning to Spike, "Princess Luna, I'd like you to meet Spike, my "Number One Assistant". Spike, this is Princess Luna, Alicorn of the Moon," She introduced.

To his credit, Spike put everything together rather quickly in his head. After a moment of staring at Luna, having a hard time visualizing her being Nightmare Moon, he stuck his claw out to her, "Welcome home, your highness," He greeted cheekily.

Luna blinked at the knowing look in the young drake's eyes before taking the appendage and shaking it, "Thank you, it is most grand to be home to fair Equestria, Hatchling," She greeted with a small smile. Spike looked a bit grumpy at the 'hatchling' comment but shrugged it off, before jumping off to join the party. As he left, Luna turned back to Twilight with a blank expression, "Thee hast a dragon," She stated simply.

"Well, yeah. I've been raising him since he was born...well, I had a lot of help from my family and Princess Celestia of course, but I've been trying to take my responsibilities to him as seriously as I can, since I hatched him," She explained.

Luna's expression didn't change as she took a breath, "Ye hatched a dragon, and art raising him as if he were thine offspring or sibling," She reworded, getting a nod, "Twilight Sparkle, the dress maker was correct: Thou art like something out a fairy tale: and coming from a mare from a millennium ago, We believe that is saying much."

Twilight scratched her head absently, looking to her teacher for aid, who had been staring at her since before Spike's introduction, "...You head-butted Nightmare Moon?" Celestia asked blankly, looking at her student with an unreadable expression.

"W-well, more like I...faked her out, as the saying goes, teleporting at the last second," Twilight elaborated.

"...You played chicken with Nightmare Moon," Celestia restated, getting a sheepish look, a sheepish smile, and a sheepish shrug, "...Where, exactly, did you get those, My Student?" She asked monotonely.

"G-get what, Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked.

"Your iron ovaries."

 **End of Chapter**

And there we go MY first chapter for this piece. I'll be honest, until I started, I didn't realize how badass Twilight must seem right now, even to (or especially to) Luna and Celestia- who is wondering where her student has been hiding this inner badass. And after taking stock of that, I realized that Rainbow Dash would probably even being singing her praises and giving her some minor hero worship.

Also, to make this clear, I intend to have this be the same Nerdy OCD pony we all know and love, but she a bit...wiser, I suppose. Her ability to learn and understand things easily extends to emotions and relationship now. Whether or not if this is the cause orthe result of her early ascension is up to interpretation.

Still, this is going to deviate more and more from canon as time goes on. Biggest thing? Twilight is going to take the Pamphile thing fairly serious even if she starts out small/slow. Meaning she's going to interact and befriend more than the would-be Mane 6.

Well, hope you all enjoyed this. Next time, you'll see Twilight adjusting to being an Alicorn, moving to Ponyville, and possibly her making new friends.

PS I turned her crown into part of the necklace because A, I like it. B, It was the first thing I imagined when I read the other five on onenecklace, C. Conveience. D. Etc.


	3. Preening and Many Meetings

Pamphile

Disclaimer: I don't own MLP

 **Forsaken139-** Yep. I've had a lot of practice with that due to a character with shakespear-style speaking. Luna's is actually toned down compared to that.

You can argue who is best pony, but I think Twilight is best mane now.

And a badass, can't forget that.

That's probably going to be a thing: By Twilight's Iron Ovaries.

 **nightmaster000** \- Plenty of changes, good or bad is deatable.

 **The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i-** We'll get there.

Regular Speak

 _Thoughts and Flashbacks_

 **Demonic or Animalistic Speak**

 _ **Demonic or Animalistic Thoughts**_

"Ohhh, ohh yeah, that's the spot!" Twilight said with a shudder of delight, lying on a massage table as the two palace maids preened her wings expertly. One was midnight blue, a darker shade than even Luna, with a mane of the same color and the other was a shade of light green with a white and yellow stripped mane; both were, unsurprisingly, Pegasi.

While the art of wing care was often a private or personal matter, there were those who were trained to care for the winged individuals that could not do it better than what was sufficient for their health. As such, several maids in Celestia's employ were well trained in the art and completely professional about it.

"Your wings are so soft, so luscious, Milady," Midnight Leather said with an alluring smile, taking a moment to smell the wings, "Your magic almost has a musk of its own. Must be that New Alicorn smell," She joked lightly, using her own wings to massage Twilight's wing muscles and the back.

Well, mostly professional.

"Midnight, stop teasing her. You're supposed to be undoing her cramps, not making more with your teasing," Jade Glider scolded lightly, smiling none the less.

Midnight chuckled airily, her wings soothing Twilight's back, "Apologies, Milady. I'm too used to Princess Celestia. She usually finds talks like this to be amusing and relaxing," She explained.

"A problem I have nary a doubt will be remedied on its own due time," A regal and familiar voice greeted, catching their attention.

"Princess Luna!" They all greeted in surprise as the newly-returned Alicorn walked into the room.

"No, no, do not rise on my account," She insisted quickly, smiling at her savior, "You two may continue thine services, I merely desire to speak with Lady Twilight," She assured.

"Yes, Your Majesty," The maids said with a bow, returning to their current attendee.

"Princess Luna, wha-what can I do for you?" Twilight asked with a small blush as she remained on the bed, "...Also, did you get taller?"

"Mayhaps a bit. My true size and form will return with my strength," Luna answered offhoofedly, "Sister is attending to the aftermath of the Nightmare Moon incident. She recommended that if I found rest unwelcoming, I should seek you out. I...twas hoping to trouble you for...what did Celestia call it? A tour?" Luna requested.

Twilight blinked slowly, the skilled treatment on her back and new wings slowing her mind just a bit, "A tour...oh, right, Canterlot Castle wasn't even built back then," Twilight realized thoughtfully.

"And you hast lived among these halls for several years now as an apprentice to my sister," Luna mused curiously, "After your preening, of course. I would feel eternally ashamed to ruin your first wing treatment."

"All due respect, Princess, but I don't think I could leave just yet even if I wanted to," Twilight said sheepishly, grinning in delight to everyone's amusement.

Luna smiled warmly, "Ahh, I remember Tia's first professional preening. A joy of hers that has diverged very little in the past centuries," She mused, smirking at the maids, who giggled, "I shall be calling upon thine services in the very near future, Maids."

"Oh, what an honor. And just yesterday, we were only attending one Alicorn," Midnight said with a grin.

Jade giggled in amusement, "Let's pray we have the energy for three."

"Sorry to disappoint," Twilight spoke up, her eyes half lidded in serenity, "But I shall be taking a bit of a vacation to Ponyville while I relax and adjust to...this-" She paused to give a small flap of her wings, "-and other things. Canterlot's royal library is faaaar too tempting for me to stay away from if I'm living here."

"Oh? So mine sister did not exaggerate in claiming your hunger for knowledge is as insatiable as an equibus?" Luna mused teasingly.

Twilight blushed sheepishly, "I-I've been told similar things."

Luna chuckled with the maids, "Still, I do have one burning question, Lady Twilight? Is there a reason you are still in possession of the elements?" Luna asked, glancing down at the royal yoke, the Elements of Harmony embedded in it.

Twilight hummed, making a small noise of surprise before practically melting on the spot, "All done, Milady. Unless you which for...further service," Midnight Leather offered with an alluring smile.

Blushing nervously, Twilight shook her head quickly, "N-no, thank you, Ms. Leather. Maybe another time," She said, standing slowly, feeling utterly refreshed as her ethereal mane waved in its own wind, "Whatever you are being paid, it isn't enough," Twilight said without thinking.

"We live to serve, Milady," Jade said humbly, both of them bowing as she stepped off the table.

"I'm not a princess yet- you don't have to bow to me," Twilight reminded with a smile over her shoulder before looking down at the still-small Alicorn, "Now, I believe you wanted a tour, Princess Luna?"

"Just Luna for you, Lady Twilight," Luna requested.

"Now who's being humble?" Twilight joked lightly as she led Luna to the door.

"Umm, Lady Twilight? The Elements?" Luna reminded.

"It's okay, just give them a moment," Twilight assured as they stepped out of the room. The moment they did, Luna blinked at a sudden flash of light, finding that Twilight was now wearing her Yoke of Harmony, Twilight giving it a bemused expression, "Princess Celestia and I found out the hard way that they are not fond of being too far from me," Twilight explained dryly as she started walking.

"A most peculiar but useful quality in preventing theft," Luna commented, trotting after the former-unicorn, "Though, thine reputation should be enough."

"Huh?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"You shall see in time, if what my sister plans and speculates is true, Nightmare Slayer," Luna quipped with a smile.

 **Meanwhile**

Celestia smiled to herself, outwardly benign as the various lords and barons and counts and dukes all reacted to the news, along with the administrative officials. Twilight didn't know it, but the young mare had been an interest of the upper class since the day she walked into the palace. A personally chosen student of Celestia was, truly, something that happened once a generation. Many a famous ancestor was connected to a student of Celestia. And now they had one that had that was a legend in her own right.

"Princess Celestia," Fancy Pants spoke up over the murmuring crowd. After thousands of years, the nobility of Equestria was more mixed than when it began. Still, most of the ones present were unicorns as the capitol was still the traditional home of most unicorn nobles. The rest would arrive in the coming week, "Forgive me for being blunt, but are we to understand that Canterlot will be seeing the governance of four princesses in the coming future?" He inquired curiously.

Celestia chuckled good natured at the question, "Not for a good time, Lord Fancy. My sister will need time to recuperate from her time cursed by the Nightmare and to readjust to the modern world," She started up, keeping the story clear that Luna had indeed been corrupted by the Nightmare forces, "Mi Amore Cadenza, for the time being, has retained her desire to be a Princess of Aide rather than a Princess of Rule. I understand she mobilized the royal guards the minute word reached Canterlot. If Nightmare Moon's coup had been more longer term, you would be speaking to her instead of me," She reminded gently, with no small amount of pride of her niece's ability to take the wheel if needed, "As for Twilight Sparkle, she still has much to learn and a great deal to relearn due to her ascension. For the time being, she is a Lady of the Realm. A Princess To Be, as it were," She elaborated with a smile.

The nobles went through another round of murmurs, a bit gladdened there would be no overly drastic changes in the near future. While there were deeper questions many would wish to ask, they were too delicate to ask in this premature setting, if ever. Still, a Lady of the Realm? The title carried more weight than it was meant to, marking one as a trusted ally of the Crown, making one feasibly second only to the Princesses. And giving it to an Alicorn?

Twilight Sparkle truly was a Princess in all but name now.

"Princess," A voice grunted, drawing attention to the back as a large grey Pegasus stepped forward with a black mane and black markings upon his head. His green eyes paid little mind to the nobles as he locked gaze with the Princess, "Will her Ladyship be in need of security? Or is the Alicorn of Harmony secure enough in her power to not need us?" He asked with a small smirk.

Celestia shook her head in amusement at the stallion's attitude, "General Jet Foot, I assure you, if Twilight Sparkle is in need of a guard, you'll be the second pony I seek recommendations from, right after the Royal Guard Captain," She assured, briefly scanning the room and confirming, yet again, that Shining Armor was not in attendance. Nor was Cadance, for that matter.

 **Meanwhile**

"Sister certainly invested well in the castle's kitchen," Luna said, licking her teeth oddly as they walked through the halls, the occasional guard saluting them, "Though, this Jell-O concoction has a most unusual sensation to it, especially when in the mouth."

Twilight giggled at that, "Well, that's the entrance, the kitchen, the dining hall, the ball room, the royal guest area and the way to Princess Celestia's room," Twilight mused, having decided that taking Luna to see her sister's room just seemed like something for the siblings to do, "That just leaves the dungeon-"

"I think I shall visit that another time, thank you," Luna said dryly, having no desire to ruin the fun mood with the dreary dungeon.

"-the garden-"

"-the physicians don't want me venturing out while I may be susceptible to new diseases and allergies," Luna grumbled with a blush.

"-the throne room-"

"Isn't that occupied for court?" Luna reminded.

"-and the barracks," Twilight listed off.

"Ah, the gallant ponies at arms. Twas rather impressed that they were so willing to confront an Alicorn, outclassed though they were," Luna mused before looking confused, "What about the library?" Luna asked curiously.

"I fear you may be trapped for another millennia if you venture in there with her," A voice called playfully, making Twilight's ears perk up as a smile came onto her face.

Luna, not noticing Twilight's reaction, turned to see the new arrivals. There was a white stallion with a very coltish yet handsome look about him with a blue mane. And the uniform, different from those of the other soldiers complimented him well. There was also a very beautiful mare, her coat pink and her main curly with purple, magenta and yellow stripes. She was also wearing cloak of sorts, _'A noble, perhaps?'_ Luna mentally mused curiously, "Lady Twilight, are these acquaintances of yours?" She asked curiously.

Twilight shook her head in amusement, "Princess Luna, this is Shining Armor, my brother," She introduced, getting a surprised look from Luna.

"Your brother is in the Royal Guard? Truly, the surprises never end around you, Lady Twilight," Luna said, smiling at the young stallion.

"Princess," he greeted with a bow of the head, "Pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Soldier," Luna assured with a regal smile.

Twilight, meanwhile, glanced at a giddy Cadance, who mouthed something to her that made Twilight blink, _**'She doesn't know?**_ _Luna doesn't know what? That Shining is the Guard Captain? Obviously, but- OHHHH! Luna doesn't know Cadance is an Alicorn!'_ Twilight realized in surprise.

No one noticed, but the Star of Laughter glowed ever so softly.

"And this-" Twilight spoke up again, "-is Cadance, my former foal sitter," She introduced, fighting down a grin.

"Your brother and your foal sitter? Lady Sparkle, will you be introducing me to thine parents before this day is done?" Luna teased lightly, making Twilight gap at the unintended double meaning, Laughter shining brighter.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Princess Luna," Cadance greeted with a warm smile that surprised Luna a bit.

"Princess," Shining spoke up, "What I'm about to do is as a brother, not a soldier," He informed with a smirk.

Luna blinked before smirking as well, "Carry on, do thine duties," She prompted.

Twilight looked confused before she found herself in a headlock, Shining giving her a light noogie, "Ahhh, Shining, stop it!"

"So, I let you go off for one night, and you come back with a pair a wings and the number of Alicorns doubled," Shining teased, pausing thoughtfully, "Huh, is this what the Princess's mane feels like? Hmm, she might not even need a pillow to sleep with this on her head," He mused absently.

"Shame, guess that means there's only one Alicorn without an ethereal mane," Cadance said with a pout.

Luna grinned a bit at that, "Rest assured, Ms. Cadance, my mane shall once more be like a veil of the bejeweled night when my strength returns."

"Shiny, let me go!" Twilight yelled again, shoving him off to everypony's surprise, sending him toppling to the ground, "...Sorry, new strength coming in," Twilight apologized.

Shining stared, stunned for a moment, before grinning, "Just don't dent the armor, Sis. It'd be hard explaining how and why my sister damaged it," He said with a chuckle.

"Yes, I imagine the royal guard captain would have your flank for doing that to a future princess, sister or not," Luna joked, Shining biting his cheek to keep from laughing.

"So, these are the Elements of Harmony," Cadance comment, stepping closer to get a good look at the yoke. Twilight tried to hold her head high, but just came off looking nervous, "They suit you, Twily," Cadance said supportively.

"Thanks," Twilight said, rubbing her head with a blush.

"But is it supposed to be glowing?" Shining asked, tapping the Star of Laughter curiously.

Twilight sighed at that, "Unfortunately, the princesses made it clear that there is no book I could possibly find in the castle about the nature of the Elements. So, we have no idea," Twilight informed, eyeing the elements curiously, "I am VERY sure this thing is sentient though," She commented. At that, all the elements glowed softly, as if in confirmation.

Twilight looked up to see her foal sitter and brother staring with wide eyes while Luna openly gaped, "I...I didn't realize Harmony was a conscious entity," Luna commented, stunned.

"Well, be sure to take care of my Little Twily, kay Harmony?" Shining asked jokingly.

"Shining, it's not going to respond to every thi-" Twilight started, going blank faced as the Stars of Magic and Loyalty glowed brightly, as if in determination.

"...I didn't realize Harmony was talkative either," Luna quipped, over her surprise now. To her interest, the Stars of Kindness and Generosity glowed briefly; the light almost seemed to be aimed at her.

"Well, at least I know Twilight is in good hooves, if what the Princess said about the Elements is true," Shining said with a teasing smirk, "That must be awkward, going to the bathroom with those."

"Oh, like your Armor isn't?" Twilight retorted with a scowl.

"My armor isn't alive," Shining retorted, getting a giggle from Cadance.

"So...any idea how to break this to your parents?" Cadance asked smugly, watching as the siblings froze like statues.

"...What manner of parents spawns a foal like Twilight Sparkle?" Luna muttered to herself in interest, "We may cut the tour short here, Twilight. I can sympathize in the desire to be among family and friends."

"Are you sure, Luna?" Twilight asked, tilting her head.

"Yes, yes. Now that I know the basic layout of the castle, I merely need to familiarize myself with my new dwellings," Luna said offhoofedly, waving off the concerns, "Though, Shining Armor, would you happen to know when I could arrange a meeting with the royal guard captain? While I trust in my sister's judgment, I do like knowing who has made it their duty to protect us, our home and our subjects," Luna requested.

"Oh, the Captain is off duty at the moment, Princess's orders, but I'm sure he'd be happy to meet with you today, Princess," Shining said with a grin.

"Oh? Where might I find him then?" Luna asked curiously.

"Oh, about two hundred centimeters in front of you," Twilight answered with a sly smile.

"...Centimeters?" Luna asked in confusion, glancing to her savior quizzically.

"Captain Shining Armor of Her Majesty's Royal Guard, I think that is enough playing around," Cadance said with a impish smile.

Luna blinked once, then twice, as she almost didn't process it before she went wide eyed and looked between the siblings several times before settling on Twilight, "Your Brother Is Captain Of The Royal Guards?!" She asked in disbelief.

"Yep, got promoted about a year and a half ago," Twilight said with a smile.

"...Is there anything else?" Luna asked in disbelief, "Art you going to say next that thine foal sitter is an archduchess?" She asked sarcastically.

"...About that," Cadance said with a giggle. Luna looked around, only to gap as Cadance vanished her cloak and unfolded her wings, "Mi Amore Cadenza, Alicorn of Love, Princess in Aide, Adopted Niece of Celestia, and Proudest-Foal-Sitter-Of-All-Time," She reintroduced herself with an over the top bow, "At your service, Aunty," She said with a grin.

 ***THUD***

Twilight went wide eyed as Luna collapsed backwards, legs twitching.

"Huh, that was how Shining reacted when he found out you became an Alicorn," Cadance commented idly.

"That's not true!" Shining protested with a mock glare.

"Yes, it is," Cadance said with a grin, "In fact, you fainted twice."

"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!" Twilight said, looking to Luna in panic, "She passed out! What do I do, what do I do!? Should I raise her legs? No, no, that's for lacerations. Should I get Princess Celestia? How am I going to explain I made her sister comatose?!"

"...And that, according to the Princess, was how you reacted when I passed out," Shining retorted smugly.

"Oh, like you dislike a beautiful mare worrying over you," Cadance retorted with a blushing grin, "Besides, I only did it the first time. Second time, Aunty and I considered drawing on your face," She informed with a small, mischievous smile.

They both went wide eyes as a large, powerful jet of water shot right by them, racing down the hall. They turned in shock to a very sheepish Twilight, a bit of water of her horn, "I...tried to summon a glass-worth of water to wake her up and kind of overpowered it?" She explained in embarrassment.

As she did, a few droplets fell from her horn, landing on Luna's nose and startling her awake. The Alicorn of the Moon blinked as she stared up at her savior, standing over her smaller form, "...If thy desire to claim the more traditional reward for saving a princess, Lady Twilight, I must insist on being able to recuperate and prepare myself if either of us art to be satisfied," She requested calmly, Twilight looking very confused while Shining and Cadance bit their lips hard to suppress snickering, "Also, why is my back wet and cold?"

 **Meanwhile**

"Attention, attention!" Mayor Mare called over the murmur filling the town hall, filled with a good number of ponies, "Now, I know we've all had a long night and longer morning. So, I'll just cut right to the chase so we can all go home and relax a bit," She assured, getting looks of relief or exhaustion, "First off, Princess Celestia has informed me that there will be no need to change the clocks. Despite the late start, the sunset and following sunrise will be on the same time as always," She explained, getting several sighs of relief. Setting clocks was annoying enough without anypony knowing what time to set it for.

"So much fer the longest day of the year," Applejack joked, Big Mac chuckling in his throat.

"Next, due to the extended night and other influences, we will be getting an unavoidable rain shower ahead of schedule," Mayor Mare continued, making Rainbow Dash groan. _Unavoidable Rain Shower_ usually translated to a storm being too big for the average team to just clear away. Which meant this was going to be a _keep the storm from getting too bad_ job, "Lastly, a bit of good news for us all: Lady Twilight Sparkle will be moving to Ponyville for an extended time to settle into her new, um, overall state...and, as noted by Princess Celestia, a much needed and well earned vacation," Mayor Mare read off, her voice curious at the end.

"Yes!" Rainbow Dash cheered to herself as most of the ponies livened up a bit at the notion of the soon-to-be Princess living in their town, "I knew there was a reason she asked if I'd be willing to teach her about wings!" She said to herself with a hoof-pump. She was going to train a princess!

The other weather Pegasi looked to their leader-in-all-but-name, sharing amused looks. The multicolored mare had been very talkative about a certain Alicorn.

"Umm, Mayor?" Pinkie Pie called, raising her hoof high.

"Yes, Pinkie?" Mayor asked curiously.

The party pony cleared her throat as she stood on her chair, "I would just like to say that the usual mass-going-away party for all visitors has been cancelled! I am sorry," She said with a sigh, "A lot of the supplies went bad this morning or got used up for other parties. However, everyone who stays will be welcome at Lady Twilight Sparkle's "Welcome Back and House Warming" Party!" She cheered, instantly happy again.

The visitors in the crowd looked curiously to Mayor Mare, who blinked and searched through her notes again, "Ahh, yes, she will be moving in tomorrow," She explained calmly.

Pinkie Pie smiled with a hoof to her chest, "That's right, the party will be to-" Pinkie paused as she and everypony went wide eyed at that as well.

 _ **"TOMORROW?!"**_

While all the other ponies started to rush around in a hurry, Applejack sat calmly with her brother, "Ya know, if I hadn't met that mare before, I'd think she was expecting a royal welcome at the drop of a hat," Applejack mused.

"Eeyup."

"Yah, but don't worry, she's a real humble sort. Imagine she enjoys a few things that Rarity lady does, but she ain't got her nose in the sky like some nobles," Applejack continued.

"Neope."

"I reckon she didn't think we'd make a big deal out of it. Or maybe she didn't know we'd be informed at all," Applejack mused thoughtfully.

"Eeyup."

"Ya remember any of the stuff she like best?" She asked curiously.

"Neope."

"Oh hay. Hoping to give her a "house welcomin" gift all the same," She said with a frown.

"Family's still in town," Big Mac reminded, rolling his straw in his mouth.

"Hm, yer right! Maybe one of them remembers. Thanks, Big Bro," Applejack thanked with a smile and a pat on the back.

"Welcome."

"By the way? Applebloom know yet that the mare we greeted yesterday is a princess now?" She asked with a grin, which he returned with a smirk.

"Neope."

"Well, that's one thing to look forward to," Applejack said with a bit of teasing to her voice.

"Eeyup."

 **Meanwhile**

 ***THUMP***

 ***THUMP-THUMP***

"Great, some rats must be in the attic again."

Twilight Velvet and Night Light were, a bit anxiously, trying to relax in their living room. Ever since the sunrise became undoubtedly late, they had become increasingly worried about their children. When the rumors start flowing that Celestia had been kidnapped or was otherwise missing, they worried even more so. While they, like most ponies of Equestria, loved the princess, they were more concerned with the fact that if anything happened to her, there was a good chance something happened to one or both of their offspring as well- what with Shining being the captain of her guard and Twilight her personal student.

They were very proud parents, if that wasn't obvious.

Still, when the sun finally did rise, they were a bit relieved. And some of their friends had overheard the guards talking about their orders from "Captain Armor", so they had some sense of peace at that- one of their children was alive and probably well by the sound of it; but no word from or about Twilight. Though, they did hear some strange rumors about two new Alicorns arriving with the Princess's return to the castle, along with something about her sister? It was all very strange and vague.

"Honestly, I've always been more worried about Shiny than Twily," Night Light commented offhandedly.

"Oh? How come?" Velvet asked curiously as they drank their tea- well, tea-coffee mix. They experimented when they were nervous- not like that!

"Relying too much on that dome shield of his. I mean, I get it, his talent and all, but you'd think he'd at least make it have spikes or a stunning ability- you know, something that keeps someone from just pounding on it until it breaks," Night Light mused.

"Well, it helps that he's stronger than the average unicorn," Velvet mused with a shrug, "Plus, he's more like Twilight than he likes to admit- that shield buys him a few seconds to think without actuallly freezing up," She pointed out with a giggle.

"True. Though, the only thing that has ever made him freeze up is an angry Twilight and a beautiful mare talking to him," Night Light continued with a chuckle, remembering fond events- for him, at least, "So...any ideas about the story behind the Late Solstice?" He asked idly.

"I don't know, but believe me, ever other writer from here to Las Pegasus is going to be using this night as a plot point or story opener for the next year or so," Velvet mused with a sigh, "I'd be thinking about that too if I could just know Twilight was fine."

 ***THUMP-THUMP***

 ***KNOCK***

"Can't you let us wallow with our worry in peace?!" Twilight Velvet yelled overdramatically, getting a chuckle from her husband, whose ears twitched curiously as he glanced behind her.

"Actually, Dear? I think that last one was the door," Night Light informed, getting a surprised look from her as she looked to it as well.

 ***KNOCK-KNOCK***

They both immediately bolted to the door, quickly opening it to see the elder half of their missing heart.

"Shiny!" Twilight Velvet cried happily, wrapping her hooves around her son tearfully, who looked surprised but returned it with a smile as well.

Night Light took a breath of relief as he looked to the mare his son was suppose-to-be-secretly-dating-but-it-was-obvious-as-sin-to-them. Quite honestly, Night Light was very happy to have Cadance as future daughter-in-law. Not because of her being a princess, but the fact that she was one of the only mares Twilight would instantly approve of.

If the multiverse was real, he pitied the Shining Armor that was Twilight Sparkle's younger brother- the prospect of overprotective big-sister Twilight was as funny as it was alarming.

Shaking his head of that, he smiled at the Alicorn of Love, "I see you've managed to keep this lughead alive through last night," He joked, getting a smirk from her.

"Oh yes, he was quite helpless until I showed up," Cadance added in playfully.

"Hey!" Shining said good naturedly, the four sharing a small laugh.

"Shiny? Where's Twily?" Velvet asked softly as she released him, "She's not hurt or anything, is she?"

Cadance and Shining blinked at that, "She's not here with you?" Shining asked curiously.

Now the parents blinked, "Umm, no? Why would she be?" Night Light asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She said she was going ahead of us, to surprise you herself," Cadance said with a frown, turning to her coltfriend, "Do you think she...?"

Shining groaned as he face-hooved, "Teleported. And missed," He muttered in annoyance.

Twilight Velvet was now very confused, "But...Twilight mastered that spell a long time ago," She reminded with a scowl of worry.

"Her magic is...a bit on the fritz right now," Cadance informed vaguely, "But she's so accustomed to using it, she probably did it on instinct."

"So...my Filly Twily could be lost anywhere in Canterlot or even off the side of the mountain?!" Twilight Velvet asked in worry, her imaginative brain conjuring all kinds of horrible fates that could have befallen her child.

She was very much her daughter's mother.

 _ ***THUMP!***_

"...Or she could be stuck upstairs somewhere and not willing to use magic at the moment," Shining summarized with a smirk as his mother deflated into a calm but sheepish demeanor.

"...Oh, wow, if that's her, she's been up there a while...," Night Light realized awkwardly.

"We should probably find her," Twilight Velvet said sheepishly as they all headed upstairs to find the missing member of the family.

After several minutes of searching and calling her name, they deduced that Twilight was not, in fact, in the attic but in a closet…the closet of Shining Armor's old room, to be exact.

"...I remember the last day I actually opened that," Shining Armor said in amusement, "I stuffed away every last out of place thing in there before heading off to the Guard."

"...Soooo, who's going to let her out?" Night Light asked with a raised eyebrow as they stood in the door way, looking at the closet.

"You two probably should," Cadance said with a small grin, "Get the surprise out of the way."

The spouses shared a confused look before shrugging and heading up to the closet, Night Light opening it with his horn.

Out of it spilled a few clothes, an old banjo, a few dirty magazines that Shining forgot about and one disheveled Twilight. She looked up at her parents with surprised eyes, a very much returned expression, "This, I can explain," She assured quickly. They didn't say anything, just glancing down to the yoke on her neck, "And those," She added calmly, her twitching wings catching their attention, "And these," She continued with a sigh as she stood up, giving them a full view of her flowing mane, "...I don't know how to explain that yet," She finished in resignation, letting them take in the image of their Alicorn daughter, hoping they didn't faint.

 **End of Chapter**

There we go! Tiny cliffhanger. So, yes, Twilight is enjoying a bit of pampering by my new OCs; I found an MLP name generator and I swear, Midnight Leather came up on its own. And, immediately after, we see another named Jet Foot- my beta loves this one, btw. Hope you all enjoyed them, we'll probably see some repeat appearances.

And, yes, Harmony still speaks occassionally and Luna gets a little trolled by everyone. Ponyville is getting ready for Twilight while her parents are about to find out about everything Twilight did in Ponyville. Also, Twilight Velvet is, apparently, a writer on par with Daring Do. I kind of like that, to be honest. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Until next time!


	4. Early Amends, Epic Children

Pamphile

Disclaimer: I don't own MLP

Regular Speak

 _Thoughts and Flashbacks_

 **Demonic or Animalistic Speak**

 _ **Demonic or Animalistic Thoughts**_

Beta: Dragon_Wizard91

Her parents took it...fairly well.

"Woop-Woop! Woop-Woop! Our daughter's an Alicorn~! Eat your hearts out, fathers everywhere!" Night Light cheered in pride as he somersaulted around the room...and into the kitchen.

"Oh, my Silly-Filly-Twily!" Twilight Velvet gushed, hugging her daughter in what " _ **seemed**_ " like a headlock and petting her mane in a manner " _ **similar**_ " to a noogie, "We knew we had awesome kids, but seriously! You two don't need to compete like this!" She teased with a grin.

More than fairly well.

Cadence raised an eyebrow at this to Shining Armor who shrugged, "They reacted pretty much the same way when I became captain of the royal guard," He answered.

"We aren't competing!" Twilight denounced as she wiggled out of the hold without accidentally knocking her mother over.

"R _iiii_ ght," Night Light said with a smirk as he walked in with mugs of coffee for everypony, "It's not like you didn't become Princess Celestia's student right after your brother became a royal guard or that this isn't happening after he became captain...oh, wait, it is," He corrected smugly.

"Though, I think they're close to tied now, considering who he is...friends with," Twilight Velvet said with a knowing smirk at the supposed-to-be-secret-couple, prompting a blush and diverted eyes.

"Huh? What friend are you talking about?" Twilight asked with a tilted head, prompting her father to shake his head in amusement.

"I don't know about that," Shining Armor said with a sly smirk as his sister glared.

"Shiny, don't you dare," Twilight said with a seething look.

"What? I was just going to tell them that you single hoofedly defeated another Alicorn to rescue Princess Celestia before you ascended," Shining answered with mock-innocence, getting a look that promised unholy revenge at a later date.

 ***SLAM!***

Twilight yelped as she looked to her mother, who had slammed a notepad on the living room table, her magic holding a quill. The smirk on her face and look in her eye made Twilight briefly want to go round two with Nightmare Moon, "Details. I _neeeeeed_ details! My story crafting mind demands it!" She called for, almost hungrily.

"...Daddy, Mommy is scaring me," Twilight said in a squeaky voice.

"After Nightmare Moon?" Cadence asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You want to trade places?!" Twilight hissed to her former foalsitter.

Cadence took another look at Twilight Velvet, "On second thought, we never did get the full story," She answered carefully.

 _'Note to self, see if I can't find a way to have Shining and Cadence both thrown in the dungeons when I become a princess,'_ Twilight mentally grumbled to herself as she looked back to her mother, placated slightly and unwillingly by her father massaging her wither.

"Light, you know that's not fair!" Velvet whined, hating how her determination melted into putty from his backrubs. It was cheating, Celestia Dammit!

Wait, did that mean she could swear using her own daughter's name, and therefore her own?...That was a weird notion to consider.

Where was she again?

"Come on, Twily, I can only keep her calm like this for so long," Night Light prompted with a chuckle. He decided to leave out that after "so long" they were liable to start humping each other.

Oh, right, milking her daughter for potential story material.

Twilight looked between the four set of curious eyes, "...If I had known this would happen, I would have brought Spike along," She murmured in resignation.

"Hey, that's right. Where is Short-Stuff?" Shining asked in realization, having not been able to spend a lot of time with the drake, being in the guard and all.

"Oh, he's back at the palace, probably saying goodbye to some of the staff," Twilight answered offhoofedly.

 **Meanwhile**

"Spike, what have I told you about stealing my maids while they're on the job?" Celestia asked in amusement at the drake riding the cleaning mare.

Not like that!

Peach Sweet grinned sheepishly while Spike, sitting on her back, held up his claws in protest, "Come on, Princess! This'll be my last time seeing everybody here for...Shells only knows how long," Spike pointed out with a pout.

The maid giggled at that, "He is right, Your Highness. If Lady Twilight had waited another day, we would have thrown a small going away party for her and our little mascot," She joked, nuzzling Spike a bit, who blushed in embarrassment as her soft orange mane and beige coat brushed his purple scales.

Celestia smiled at the scene. Spike was a bit of a minor celebrity among the castle employees. After all, a friendly baby dragon with a strangely high maturity and intellect? Whose fire, thanks to Celestia's mail spell, didn't accidentally burn anything? Not often a pony could say they met a creature like that. And as there was a bit of inter-group rivalry among the royal staff, the maids _**somehow**_ roped Spike into being their officially unofficial mascot, to the outrage of the accountants and the blacksmiths.

That Twilight didn't know anything about this made it all the more amusing. Poor mare had her nose far too deep in books until now.

"I'm sure you'll be visiting often, but I suppose a bit of horseplay is fine all the same," Celestia mused, smirking at Peach's blush.

"Your Highness!" She squeaked at the double meaning.

"This another one of those _'when you're older moments'_?" Spike asked dully.

" **VERY**!" Peach answered, her face burning from embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Spike. If Twilight doesn't give you an explanation one day, I'm sure some of the maids will give you an in-depth one," Celestia assured innocently.

If she wasn't the princess, Peach would have yelled something. As it was, she just said nothing.

"...So, Princess Celestia?" Spike asked, breaking the silence, "Since I play middle-drake for you and Twilight, you, um, mind returning the favor on occasion?" He asked hopefully.

Peach stopped blushing, turning to stare wide eyed at Spike, _'...Balls of Bronze, Spike, Balls of Bronze,'_ Peach privately mused.

Celestia blinked at the request. It was rather strange to her, how simple and relatively normal that question sounded compared to any other she had heard in a long time. Like she lived in an apartment and somepony just asked her to grab their mail for them while she got hers. No potential ulterior motive, no groveling, just a friendly yet polite request.

She rather liked that.

"I think I can manage that, Spike, but do try to send your personal letters only when the sun is down," she requested, getting a thumbs up from the dragonling.

"So, no chance you'll stay then?" Peach asked out of curiosity.

"No," Spike said flatly, "I'm sorry, but I imagine leaving Twilight alone on a regular day for more than six hours and I can't help groaning over her going into freak-out mode over...things," Spike answered with a shudder.

"You sound like you need a raise," Peach joked with a giggle.

"Nah, I already make about ten-thousand bits a month," He answered with a flick of his claws.

"Haha...Wait, what?" Peach asked with wide eyes as Celestia slowly walked back out of the room.

"Yeah, I can't really get into it yet, being legally a baby, but the Princess pays me that for...well, partially as an allowance and partially for helping take care of Twilight," Spike answered with a grin.

"...I barely make half of that," Peach said blankly.

"Really?" Spike asked in surprise, looking up in the air, "Huh, guess a hundred-fifty a day would come up to that," He mused, stroking his chin.

"You're a baby, how does that even work? I know you're smart but...," Peach asked curiously.

"Secret," Spike said cheekily, "A guy's got to have some secrets."

"I thought that was us mares," Peach said with a smirk.

"Turnabout is fair play?" Spike offered with a shrug, "Now...are we going to get back to playing or do I need to find a new steed?"

 **Meanwhile**

"And that's most of it," Twilight answered with a deep breath at the end of the tale.

She tried to ignore the floating pages of papers, her mother's magic floating them around in different groups. What for only she knew. Character arcs? Timelines? Different book ideas?

"You played _chicken_ , with an _**Alicorn**_ ," Shining Armor noted blankly.

"Is that the kind of things Auntie teaches you? Because I don't remember getting lessons like that," Cadence asked with amused yet surprised wide eyes.

Twilight groaned at the familiar dialogue, "I'm not living that down, am I?" She asked with a sigh.

"I don't know why you'd put it like that," her mother comment absently, still scribbling notes, "After all, it is easily Top Three of your Moments of Badassary."

"Mom!" Twilight protested with a blush.

"What? Would you just prefer Epic? Because Awesome is a little too soft for this, after all," Velvet mused, unphased by her daughter's reaction.

Twilight facehooved at that, glancing down at the silent Yoke of Harmony. Good, she didn't need the Elements adding fuel to this fire- her mother might make the pseudo-Elements in her books a tragic love interest to the pseudo-Twilight! And that would be all kinds of awkward to read, let alone if anypony took it as the truth!

"...You were taught by one Alicorn, foalsat by another and you're befriending the third one that you save," Night Light commented blankly as he took a sip of coffee, "You know this all makes you sound-"

"Like a fairytale, I know," Twilight finished blankly.

"I was going to say a Superheroine or Chosen One figure, but yes, that too," Night Light corrected in amusement.

"Badass, heroic children. What more can a writing mother ask for?" Velvet asked with a pleased sigh.

"Ignore her, she's on a start of a creative high," Night Light advised, "So...all of this happened over you having a revelation about the importance of friendship?" He asked curiously.

Twilight turned thoughtful at that, having to put this into words, "That...feels like an oversimplification, to be honest. It...felt like finding my cutie mark all over again, as if I always KNEW the importance of Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, and the Magic that Friendship can bring; But it took a moment where I was...truly worried for everyone, the whole world, for me to truly understand it all. And when I did...," Twilight paused with a soft smile, lighting up the room as her wings half unfolded, "I felt like I just found the oasis in the desert and knew this was something very important in my life, something I wanted to protect and share with the world," She finished softly.

Everyone stared at her breathlessly, even as Velvet's magic kept writing down her daughter's words.

Twilight blushed a bit under their gazes, clearing her throat, "S-still, I do have a bit of work to do on myself, I think. While I've embraced friendship, I can't say I've been that good at...it...before...," Twilight trailed off as her eyes slowly went wide.

"Twily?" Shining asked in concern, waving a hoof in front of her face and getting no response.

"Is...she having a vision or something? Is that an Alicorn thing?" Night Light asked curiously to the Love Alicorn.

"It hasn't been for me," Cadence answered in concern.

"Silly-Filly-Twily?" Twilight Velvet called with an apologetic smile, "Smartypants is missing."

Twilight blinked and gasped, "Oh **BUCK** _ME_!" She yelled in urgency as the Element Stars all flickered frantically.

"I wasn't serious!" her mother assured quickly.

"NOT YOU! I GOT TO GO! _IREALLYSCREWEDUPBYE_!" Twilight called as she jumped over the couch and teleported in midair.

"...What was _that_ about?" Night Light asked slowly, getting shrugs all around.

 **Meanwhile**

Moon Dancer was having very mixed feelings about the last twenty-four hours. On one hoof, she had a party with most of her friends. On the other, the pony she wanted most to be there didn't show up. But then she heard about said pony leaving Canterlot in a royal chariot. So, it was fairly possible said friend's teacher, the honest-to-Tartarus princess of them all, had given her an important job to do- like taking care of the Summer Sun Celebration. Finally, there was all the confusion of the sun not rising, rumors of the princess going missing, the royal guards running around to keep the situation under control, etc.

She was just going to chalk it up as a bad day.

Assuming what just happened was real, she might take this as karma paying up for said bad day.

Still, it was a little hard to believe: Twilight Sparkle suddenly appearing out of thin air in the middle of her house, leaping towards her.

The flowing mane, new wings, and royal yoke did nothing to help prove to her this was real.

Not that she wasn't somewhat secretly enjoying the very real feeling of being pinned under an Alicorn-Twilight, staring at her with those deep, purple eyes.

"...Be gentle?" Moon Dancer squeaked.

Twilight blinked at that, "Huh? Say what?" She asked in confusion.

Now Moon Dancer blinked, "Wait, Twilight? Is...that really you?" She asked slowly.

"Yeah, um...sorry about this," Twilight apologized awkwardly as she stepped off the unicorn, taking a moment to help her up.

Moon Dancer took this moment to fully take in the ascended form of Twilight.

"...I feel like I should be bowing or something," Moon Dancer commented with wide eyes.

"I've...been getting that a bit as of late," Twilight admitted, scratching her head nervously.

"Unless I'm misunderstanding something...you'll probably to get used to it soon...Princess?" Moon Dancer pointed out, slowly and questioningly.

"Not yet, but eventually, yes," Twilight admitted with a sigh, "I think they said I'm a Lady of the Realm right now, but it's all been going a bit fast for me sometimes."

Moon Dancer nodded, a bit numbly, "...What happened?" She asked finally.

"It's...a long story," Twilight answered tiredly, "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather wait before telling this story again."

Moon Dancer scrunched her eyebrows at that, "Then...why are you here? I mean, not that I don't want you here! Just...you sound like you'd rather be at home, if not in bed?" She asked curiously yet cautiously.

Twilight bit her lip for a moment as she looked her similarly-styled friend in the eye...before engulfing her in a hug. A tight one, "I'm sorry!"

Moon Dancer gasped for air as the hug loosened but didn't stop, allowing her to take those words in, "W-what? Sorry? For what?" Moon Dancer asked in shock and confusion.

"For everything. Missing your party, giving you and the rest the cold shoulder so often, ignoring how much you wanted to be my friend and..." Twilight stopped to sigh as she released Moon Dancer, "'I'm sorry I haven't been a good friend."

Moon Dancer didn't say anything, staring at Twilight with an slack-jawed expression.

"I've...kind of had an epiphany recently, but it took me until just now for that to catch up with my memories and make me realize how I must have made my friends feel. I...want to make it up to you- and Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, Lyra and Minuette for that matter. I don't have a present yet, but-" Twilight went on until a hoof planted itself on her mouth firmly, silencing her.

"Just...give me a moment here," Moon Dancer requested as she took deep breaths and retracted her hoof, "Twilight, you don't need to make it up to us. We...always knew the kind of pony you were, but we all still wanted to try and be your friend. We don't want you to apologize for being yourself, even if they'll all love that you're more interested in being friends now. I'll...admit, it hurt not having you at the party, but..." She paused, looking over Twilight's form again, "It's clear that you were busy."

"If it helps, I kind of diverted a potential apocalypse among other things," Twilight cut in sheepishly.

Moon Dancer blinked but chose to ignore that for now, "... And as for the present?" She asked rhetorically, smiling a tiny smile with teary eyes as she embraced Twilight this time, "I think this is enough of a present for me."

"What, your friend becoming an Alicorn?" Twilight asked with a nervous laugh.

"No. You wanting to be my friend," Moon Dancer corrected, holding back a sniff, "I've wanted that for a long time, Milady," She added on playfully.

"Just...Twilight, Dancer," Twilight requested with a chuckle.

"No promises," Moon Dancer teased weakly.

 **Meanwhile**

"So...you actually did it," Luna commented with a smirk as she sat in her new bedroom.

"I told the old coot I'd make castle on a mountain side and that is exactly what I did," Celestia said proudly.

"Yes, well, I doth not imagine Star Swirl expected thou to hold onto that argument for so many centuries," Luna mused teasingly.

"It was the principle of proving that it was possible, even if it took the united efforts of the three tribes," Celestia answered with a mask of professionalism.

"Aye, of course that be the only reasoning for such an endeavor," Luna commented playfully and knowingly.

"And I did it all without any chaos magic or any offshoot of the same," Celestia contented with a touch of smugness.

"Speaking of which, I am pleasantly shocked that Discord twas not able to regain his freedom with the elements incapacitate for a millennium," Luna pointed out, looking over her shoulder to the window.

"I feared the same, but after the first three centuries with no reaction at all? I've come to suspect our old foe may be dead rather than imprisoned," Celestia mused grimly.

"Tis that why thou would put him up in the garden like that?" Luna asked with a head tilt.

"Dead or alive in there, I thought it too dangerous to even attempt at breaking it and risk...just about anything happening, honestly," Celestia explained before shrugging, "And...well...dead or alive, it seemed to be adding insult to injury just to chuck him away in some dark dungeon."

"Agreed," Luna responded softly, reminded of her own long banishment, before smirking playfully, "Still, I almost pity him if he does escape again, having to contest with us AND The Alicorn of Harmony herself," Luna joked.

"Let us just hope it doesn't come to that," Celestia said, feeling one part amused and one part grim at that thought.

"So...you simply must tell me how you came across this absolute diamond in the rough, Sister," Luna requested, changing the subject with a smirk.

"Do you mean when I took under my wing? Or when we first saw each other?" Celestia asked with a mysterious smile.

"...I get the strangest feeling that Lady Twilight's story can pass into legend with nary a detail needed to be altered to enhance her image," Luna commented with a sigh, "Well, do not dally! On with the story, I am used to learning shocking details about my savior. Speaking of which, before ye begin, it occurs to mineself that thou has something else to explain to me," Luna recalled with a thoughtful scowl.

"Cadenza?" Celestia guessed with a smirk.

"Aye, her and how you apparently have a unicorn nephew despite my being broodless," Luna elaborated.

Celestia chuckled at that, "Sister, you have much to catch up on."

"Yes, including a new treat that Lady Twilight and the Ponyville mare known as Pinkie Pie insist I try in the near future," Luna mused.

"Oh? And what is that?" Celestia inquired with a head tilt.

"Sister? What exactly is a Dough-Nut?" Luna asked in reply.

"..."

"Tia?" Luna asked in concern after Celestia was silent for a time.

"We're going to the kitchen. _Now._ "

 **End of Chapter**

Well, that's the new chapter. I added in a bit of headcannon as to why Discord got put in the garden- too dangerous to attempt destroying, but has been utterly unresponsive long after the things that sealed him turned to stone. Not unreasonable to thing he's stuck like that now.

As for the rest, Velvet and Night Light gush over their epic children and Twilight makes up with her near-look-alike, Moon Dancer. I figured Moon Dancer would be understanding of the canon Twilight if she apologized on the follow day and explained everything- let alone this Twilight, whose obviously been busy by the new body.

Oh, and Celestia is introducing Luna to new sweets and Spike has a few secrets from Twilight- how long they stay like that is anypony's guess.

Thanks for all the support, Stallions and Mares! Until next time!


End file.
